The document discusses 10 different types of reading questions that may be asked on the TOEFL exam: 1) factual information questions, 2) negative factual questions, 3) inference questions, 4) rhetorical purpose questions, 5) vocabulary questions, 6) reference questions, 7) sentence simplification questions, 8) insert text questions, 9) prose summary questions, and 10) fill-in-table questions. Each type of question tests a different reading comprehension skill and examples are provided for each question type.

1. READING QUESTION
TYPES
TOEFL REVIEW
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2. 1. Factual Information Questions
 Focus on facts details, definitions or other
information presented by the author
 Asks you to identify specific information that is
typically mentioned only in the part of the
passage
 Do not generally ask about general themes
that the passage as a whole discusses
 Often, the relevant information is in one or two
sentences
 To answer – information is in the passage
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3. 1. Factual Information Questions
 Examples:
 According to the paragraph, which of the following
is true of X?
 The author’s description of X mentions which of
the following?
 According to the paragraph, X occurred
because…
 According to the paragraph, X did because…
 According to the paragraph, why did X do Y?
 The author’s description of X mentions which of
the following?
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4. 2. Negative Factual Information
Questions
 Asks you to verify what information is true and
what information is NOT true or not included in the
passage based on the information stated
 To answer:
1. Locate the relevant information in the passage
2. Verify three or four TRUE answers
 Examples:
 According to the passage, which of the following is
NOT true of X?
 The author’s description of X mentions all of the
following EXCEPT…
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5. 3. Inference Questions
 Measures the ability to comprehend an
argument or an idea that is strongly implied but
explicitly stated in the text
 If an effect is cited, the cause might be asked
 If comparison is made, comparison may be
inquired
 Important – explicit meaning of the author’s
words, but the logical implication of such
words
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6. 3. Inference Questions
 Examples:
 Which of the following can be inferred about X?
 The author of the passage implies that X…
 Which of the following can be inferred from
paragraph 1 about X?
 To answer – Choose an answer that is
important or true and that is inferable from the
passage
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7. 4. Rhetorical Purpose Question
 You are asked WHAT and information an author
presented
 You are asked WHY the author has presented a
particular information in a place or manner
 Examples:
 The author discusses X in paragraph 2 in order to…
 Why does the author mention X?
 The author uses X as an example of…
 To answer – focus on logical links between
sentences and paragraphs
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8. 5. Vocabulary Question
 Asks you to identify the meanings of individual
WORDS or PHRASES as they are used in the
passage
 Remember – a word might have more than
one meaning but only one meaning would be
relevant in the passage
 In TOEFL IBT, words are unusual, technical or
have special meanings in the context
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9. 5. Vocabulary Question
 Examples:
 The word X in the passage is closest in meaning
to…
 In stating X, the author means that…
 To answer – identify the expression(s) as it is
used in the passage
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10. 6. Reference Questions
 Asks you to identify referential relationships
between the words in the passage
 Often, relationship is between a pronoun and its
antecedent
 Sometimes, other kinds of grammatical reference
are tested
 Example:
 The word X in the passage refers to
 To answer – the word or expressions chosen
could perfectly be substituted to the choice
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11. 7. Sentence Simplification
 Asks to choose a sentence that has the same
essential meaning as a sentence that occurs
in the passage
 Examples:
 Which of the following best expresses the
essential information in the highlighted sentence?
 To answer – should not contradict the main
argument of the paragraph in which the
sentence occurs, or the passage as a whole
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12. 8. Insert Text Questions
 Given a new sentence & asked where in the
passage it would best fit
 Examples:
 Look at the four squares () that indicate where
the following sentence could be added to the
passage:
 To answer:
 Structure should be fit
 Logical connection should be ensured
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13. 8. Insert Text Questions
 To answer:
 Structure should be fit
 Logical connection should be ensured
 Frequently used connecting words:
 On the other hand
 For example
 On the contrary
 Similarly
 In contrast
 Furthermore, or Further
 Therefore
 In other words
 As a result
 Finally
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14. 9. Prose Summary Questions
 Will be asked to pick the choices that best
express the most important ideas in a passage
 Will be asked to recognize the major ideas by
distinguishing them from minor ideas
 Will be asked to understand the relative
importance of information in a passage (very
critical to this activity)
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15. 9. Prose Summary Questions
 Examples:
 An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the
passage is provided below. Complete the summary by
selecting the THREE answer choices that express the
most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do
not belong in the summary because they express ideas
that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in
the passage.
This passage discusses fundamental differences between
applied-art objects and fine-art objects.
 ________________________________
 ________________________________
 ________________________________
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16. 10. Fill-in Table Questions
 Measures the ability to conceptualize and
organize major ideas and other important
information across the passage and place
them in appropriate categories
 Requires the ability to understand rhetorical
functions such as cause-effect relationships,
compare-contrast relationships, arguments
and the like
 Questions are more likely to be abstract
concepts based on the passage phrases or
information
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17. 10. Fill-in Table Questions
 To answer – Pick the choices that are slightly more
detailed outline; Correct answers represent major ideas
and important supporting information in the passage
 Examples:
 Complete the table below to summarize information about the
two types of art discussed in the passage. Match the appropriate
statements to the types of art with which they are associated.
Type Statements
Major Topic Statement 1
Statement 1
Statement 1
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